Nigeria: 'No new cases of Lassa Fever in last three days'

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria may have stemmed the spread of the Lassa Fever outbreak that has killed 41 people in 10 states across the country, following the announcement by the authorities on Tuesday that no new confirmed cases have been recorded in the last 72 hours.

The Minister of Health, Mr. Isaac Adewole, told a news conference in Abuja that based on the report from his ministry's surveillance team, the number of suspected cases is 93, number of laboratory confirmed cases is 25, and the number of reported deaths is 41.

“We will like to state that given the high index of suspicion, the increasing number of suspected cases may not be out of place as health practitioners are more likely to include Lassa fever as a differential diagnosis in their health care facilities.

“However, the good news is that there have been no new confirmed cases or deaths in the last 72 hours. This is a reflection of our coordinated response and advocacy to all states,” he said at the conference, joint addressed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Lassa Fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness caused by Lassa virus, a member of the arenavirus family of viruses.

It is transmitted to humans from contacts with food or household items contaminated with rodent excreta.

The disease is endemic in the rodent population in parts of West Africa. Person-to-person infections and laboratory transmission can also occur, particularly in the hospital environment in the absence of adequate infection control measures.
-0- PANA SEG 12Jan2016